Wolf Creek

Wolf Creek (Director: Greg McLean)
















This is McLean's feature debut. He also wrote the screenplay.

There have been a little more than 20 or so horror films in 2005, and most of them could fit snugly into any kind of Worst List in any given year. It took 359 days, but we finally have a horror movie that is better than slightly above average, like The Skeleton Key. Some people might say High Tension, and you might get some people who classify The Devil's Rejects as horror (and subsequently the best horror film of the year), but neither of those did it for me.

It's more redneck horror, this time in Australia. Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips) is about to make a cross-country trek with Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) and love interest Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) to the Wolf Creek Crater site and other attractions. But then the car doesn't start, and they are helped by amiable stranger Mick Taylor (John Jarratt), and well, things turn for the worse, needless to say.

The film takes awhile to kick in, but you will be rewarded with a tight, well-shot flick with scares that don't rely on crashing musical tones that cue the bad guy. There are some far-fetched events in this, and it doesn't break a lot of new ground, but it can at least be lauded for doing a good job, which about 20 horror films didn't do this year.